Even though more than a decade has passed since Mike Anderson lost his son, not a day goes by when he doesn’t think about him. After two and a half years as a FAST Company Marine, Corporal Mike Anderson Jr. was killed in a gunfight during the Battle of Fallujah on December 14, 2004. He was just 21 years old.

As you know, our mission is to pay tribute to service members like Mike Jr., who gave their lives for our Country, and you are an integral part of accomplishing that mission.

For Gold Star families and parents like Mike Anderson, the Marines’ Memorial Club is a sacred space. Thanks to partners like you, we have created a Living Memorial where families can gather and reminisce, tell the stories of those who are no longer with them, and honor the sacrifices that gave us our freedoms.

Ensure that their memories live on. Your contribution in the following amounts will help us provide …

We’re proud to say that 100% of your contribution will go directly to helping honor service members past and present and easing the burden for those currently serving and their families.

Over the last 70 years, the Marines’ Memorial has impacted tens of thousands of veterans, active military service members, military families and their communities. Will you help us continue this proud tradition by contributing online today?

If your giving is restricted to 501(c)3 organizations, please consider a gift to Marines’ Memorial Foundation which supports all programs of the Marines’ Memorial Association. Please contact the Marines’ Memorial Development Department at development@marinesmemorial.orgfor more information.

The Marines’ Memorial Association’s 1946 charter established the Marines’ Memorial Club as the first “Living Memorial” in the United States, dedicated as a “tribute to those who have gone before; and to provide a service to those who carry on.”

May 24 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria, during whose 63-year reign Canada moved from colony to confederation—mostly peacefully, thanks in large part to her.

Perhaps she was predisposed to fondness for the colony, as her father, Edward, Duke of Kent lived in Canada in the 1790s, eventually becoming commander-in-chief of the British North American forces. Prince Edward Island is named for him.

In 1837 and 1838, the years Victoria ascended to the throne and was crowned, bloody rebellion was quashed in the British colonies of Lower and Upper Canada (Quebec and Ontario today). Rebels, unhappy with the ruling elite, wanted more control over raising and spending of revenues in their colonies.

The American employed soaring oratory in calling D-Day troops to “the Great Crusade.” The Brit summoned the words of a 17th-century soldier-poet as he urged the “team” on in their “great and righteous cause.”

The Canadian, on the other hand, reminded his troops of the “knowledge and experience bought and paid for” by brothers-in-arms who had gone down to abject defeat at Dieppe two years earlier.

The generals commanding Allied forces on D-Day took different tacks in their efforts to inspire soldiers boarding ships and aircraft bound for the greatest seaborne invasion the world has ever seen.

Upcoming Events

Save the Date for Canada Day Celebrations!

Join the DML in downtown San Jose on June 27th to raise the Canadian flag outside City Hall, then head over to Uproar Brewing Co. for some fun and festivities with your fellow Canucks. This family-friendly event is open to all, but you must get tickets so we can plan a great party.
And for a second year in a row, you can bring a non-perishable item to donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank. #canadiansdoinggood

In search of Roman’s ‘lost boys’ of WWI

Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, PA was founded by Irish immigrant Thomas Cahill in 1890, and was the first free Catholic high school in the country. By the time the United States had entered World War I in 1917, the school was already more than a quarter-century old. Yet many alumni, including writer Chris Gibbons, had long assumed that there was no commemorative plaque for World War I because no Roman alumni had died in that war. However, as Gibbon’s interest and knowledge of the Great War deepened over the years, he began to doubt this assumption. After he read James Nelson’s book The Remains of Company D, Gibbons resolved to finally learn the truth regarding World War I and the lost boys from Roman. Click here to read how this search unfolded, and how the names of the lost boys of Roman are being rediscovered and honored 100 years after the end of World War I.

Filmmaker Daniel Bernardi and his historical documentary series for the National Cemetery Administration

Gone but no longer forgotten: At long last, these four World War I veterans receive a memorial service

The cremated remains of four World War I veterans were transported in a horse-drawn carriage, accompanied by Patriot Guard Riders and a police escort, to their final resting place at the Roseburg National Cemetery Annex in Douglas County, Oregonlast week. The veterans’ remains were forgotten on a shelf at a local mortuary before being rediscovered through the painstaking research of Douglas County Veterans Forum member Carol Hunt and retired Roseburg National Cemetery technician Gigi Grimes Shannon. What the two women found was one of the largest groups of unclaimed veterans remains ever to have been recovered in the state. Click here to read this extraordinary story of a dogged pursuit for justice for these four World War I veterans.

Fort Des Moines exhibit honors African-American men who served in WWI

Over a century ago, the first African-American officers trained at Fort Des Moines. On May 4, local members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity unveiled a display honoring members who received their commissions there in 1917 and served during World War I. The Fort Des Moines training camp was the first and only established for African-American officers and non-commissioned candidates. What began as a simple question — “Did Phi Beta Sigma have any members who were commissioned here” — turned into a three-year project that uncovered 20 men from the fraternity who served in WWI, including nine who received their commissions at Fort Des Moines. Click here to read the entire story about the search, the ceremony, and what the fraternity learned about its World War I heritage as a result.

100 Years Ago This Week: The Tragic Death of James Reese Europe

In May 3rd’s edition of the World War I Centennial News Podcast, Episode 121, host Theo Mayer reviewed some of the most important headlines from this week, 100 years ago. Among them was the death of James Reese Europe, the legendary African American band leader of the 369th Infantry Band. Already famous as an innovator and an advocate for Black musicians in New York, he’s often credited for bringing Jazz to France with the 369th. He was tragically murdered in an altercation with a bandmate. Click here to read the contemporary story of the death of a military and musical legend 100 years ago.

Literature in WWI This Week

Waking Up to History: John Dos Passos, the Cut-up, and World War I

By M.C. Armstrong

When M.C. Armstrong traveled to Iraq as a war reporter, he took with him the work of WWI volunteer ambulance driver and American novelist, John Dos Passos. Like Dos Passos did in 1919, Armstrong came back and began to assert his own theory of war writing based on lessons learned.

Official WWI Centennial Merchandise

As the United States commemorates the centennial of World War I, one of the nation’s premier military history institutions pays tribute to the Americans who served and the allies they fought beside to defeat a resourceful enemy with a lavishly illustrated book. It is an official product of the Unites States World War One Centennial Commission. The story of WWI is told through the memorable art it spawned ― including posters from nations involved in the conflict ― and a taut narrative account of the war’s signal events, its major personalities and its tragic consequences; and the timely period photographs that illustrate the awful realities of this revolutionary conflict. Most importantly, this book is a tribute to those who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and what would become the Air Force. It serves as a lasting reminder that our world ignores the history of World War I (and the ensuing WWII) at its peril ― lest we forget. Proceeds help fund the WW1 Memorial in Washington, DC.

Pershing Sponsors

John A Dean born around 1893, John Dean served in World War 1 with the United States Army. The enlistment was in 1917 and the service was completed in 1918.

Story of Service

John A. Dean was born about 1893, his mother Anna (Kelly) Dean and William Dean were residents of Butler.

John A. Dean enlisted August 31, 1917 in the Ambulance Co #33, which trained at the Van Wyck estate bordering on Lake Apshawa. He then traveled to Syracuse, New York, Allentown, Pennsylvania and lastly Camp Greene, Charlotte, North Carolina for further training.

At Camp Greene his company was incorporated into the 4th Division Regular Army. They left the United States for service overseas on May 13, 1918. In whole or part he served at Belleau Wood, Chateau Thierry, and the Aisne-Marne offensive, St. Mihiel, the Meuse Argonne in France and in the Army of Occupation in Germany.

75th Anniversary of D-DayJune 6, 2019 at 6:00 pm – 7:30 pmMarines' Memorial Club & Hotel, 609 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94102, USAOn 6 June 1944, 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces launched one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history along a 50-mile stretch of the coast of Normandy, France. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the end of WWII in Europe, Brigadier (Retd.) Roderick Macdonald MBE and Dr. Seth Givens will…